According to a recent study, black youth are almost twice as likely as their white peers to consume high calorie, sugary drinks like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

In general, low income children of all races are consuming these drinks at a troubling rate.

Experts say these results highlight the racial disparities present within America’s obesity epidemic.

From Think Progress:

“Some groups may be more at risk for soda, others may be more at risk for fruit drinks, all of which … have the same sugar base that contributes to obesity and disease,” one of the study’s co-authors, health policy researcher Lisa Powell, explained.

This particular study didn’t try to figure out why that’s the case, although Powell did suggest to Reuters that “cultural norms” and cost could both be factors. But other studies have examined the links between race, class, and nutrition — and research has confirmed that access to healthy food is divided along racial and socioeconomic lines. Even aside from cost barriers, lower-income Americans tend to live in neighborhoods that lack healthy, high-quality food in nearby grocery stores, and they often struggle to access the transportation they need to go grocery shopping. The fast food industry also contributes to nutrition disparities by targeting its marketing to low-income communities.

Read more at ThinkProgress.org

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